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The NSW Council for Intellectual Disability (NSW CID) has taken a central role in issues relating to offenders with intellectual disabilities for many years, in particular through joint production of The Framework Report (2001) on the human service needs of offenders with intellectual disabilities. The problem has been that people with intellectual disabilities have not had the human services that they need to give them a fair chance of avoiding trouble with the law and imprisonment. As well as the obvious human cost of this problem, there is a great financial cost to government in police time, courts and legal aid, imprisonment and the cost of ineffective, ad hoc responses by human services. In the years since release of The Framework Report, some valuable reforms have occurred. The NSW Government deserves applause for some substantial inroads into a major social problem. However, reform has been patchy and still awaits strong coordination across government. For more information see below NSW CID's recent Framework + 5 report which details progress that has occurred on this issue in five years.
Enabling JusticeEnabling Justice is a new report which highlights problems for alleged offendors with intellectual disability in the NSW Local Court System. Opportunities to divert people into support services that will avoid repeat offending are being lost. The result is people with intellectual disability being highly represented in prison where they are vulnerable to abuse. Justice Virginia Bell of the NSW Court of Appeal launched the Enabling Justice report at State Parliament House on 21st May 2008. Enabling Justice has been produced by the Intellectual Disability Rights Service (IDRS), in conjunction with the Coalition on Intellectual Disability and Criminal Justice and NSW CID NSW Ombudsman's ReportThe NSW Ombudsman has released a report about people with intellectual disability in the criminal justice system. In 2002, the NSW Government established a Senior Officer’s Group to work on improving outcomes for people with an intellectual disability in contact with the criminal justice system. The Ombudsman has tabled a report in Parliament which states that the Senior Officer’s Group has not been meeting its objectives. The Ombudsman said that “People with an intellectual disability are over-represented and face significant disadvantage in all areas of the criminal justice system. While NSW Government agencies have recognised that a comprehensive interagency approach is necessary to meet the needs of these individuals, we have concerns about the progress of this collaborative work.” To read the report, click on the link below. |
